He doesn't want to let go of his grip on the country and seems like he is just begging to start another cold war of sorts . . .Any thoughts?

Sometimes to buy the property and sometimes to try to work some sort of deal with them (short sale included).What Wheatie said is 100% accurate.

It also sounds like the seller and the seller's bank were willing to wait the extra week for your lender and the seller's lender to sort out the details.

Inspections always find some stuff, and that usually gets sorted out in negotiations.

This is the sort of thing an inspector might have noted.Nickling and diming you is what houses do.

What sorts of qualities should I look for in a : a.) agent b.) attorney2.

And, if I don't inform the lender about the option, that sounds like loan fraud.A sandwich lease option is sort of the ultimate in discomfort for me.But, I prefer a low risk path.

Once you figure it out, and navigate through the often obtuse interfaces, you can get a lot of info.Every property has some sort of ID.

But, it may produce an "echo boom" sort of effect when the protection expires.There have been a series of series in the Denver Post that talks about the whole foreclosure situation.

Or, a good one if you plan on buying houses cheap for the next few years.If Bush's plan ends up just putting a five year delay in a bunch of foreclosures, this situation may persist much longer than if it was just allowed to sort itself out quickly (and painfully.)Jon